Is rap music to blame or is it just an easy target?

Rap music has been a popular topic in the media since the UK riots. The use of aggressive lyrics in rap music is said to be the cause of this violent culture as it leads those who listen to it to develop a confrontational personality.

Daily Mirror columnist Paul Routledge regards rap music as a contributory factor of the riots,

I blame the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music, which glorifies violence and loathing of authority (especially the police, but including parents), exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs.

Routledge believes that rap artists have great hatred towards the world and express this through their music. Therefore it is inevitable that those who listen to this music will take in what they hear and act on it. But is rap music really to blame?

Many believe rap music is a reaction to violent society, not a cause of it. British UK rap artists Wiley, Professor Green and Lethal Bizzle believe that politicians have turned a blind eye to the world in which they live, choosing to ignore it, and they simply explain this world in their lyrics. Moreover, those who have no interest in rap music are most likely to criticise it for its harsh and ruthless lyrics, however the listeners of rap do not necessarily hear it in this way. Vocal critics of rap music, such as Dr David Starkey do not know of the lives those outside their status, as they have never experienced it and so can not relate to the lyrics in rap which explains this lifestyle.

If violence is what rap artists experience in their lives, violence is what they will rap about. This does not necessarily mean that they condone it and are in any way encouraging it, but it is a part of their life and this is how they choose to express their feelings about it.
Rap artist Wiley said,

There are also a lot of underprivileged children who've grown up without boundaries, without the love, care and education a child should have. We grow up with less than most, but at the same time have everything we don't have rubbed in our faces; we're desensitised to drug dealing, drug taking, stealing and violence from the moment we are allowed out to play, as it exists on our doorsteps.

It is easy to blame rap music for the violent culture within society, but rap is not the only source that provides people with an insight into violence and crime. The media plays an important part by normalising violence on television programmes, computer games etc, contributing to a violent culture.

So what is it about rap music that makes it easy for people to target it as the cause of the riot, while dismissing other reasons? Well, it is quite clear that it is a lot easier to point the blame on music than it is to find deeper social problems that may have caused these riots. This way the professed great cities of the UK remain great in the eyes of the critics, who fault rap music for the root of violence.

Shanice Louis